"So I say let's make the best of tonight, here comes the rest of our lives"

The perfect way to end the best summer of my life? Spending the night cruising on the Hudson. Friday night we boarded our boat, The Spirit of New Jersey, at the Chelsea Piers. We had a full course meal that was delicious, D.J. Lou who was legit, and the some of the best views of the city I've ever seen.

It's the end of my stay in Manhattan and I can't believe it. I spent the last nine months anticipating my eventful summer in the city and BAM! Just like that it's passed. Life really does pass by faster as you grow older.With that said, I couldn't feel any more love and gratitude for the friendships that I made here. I didn't expect to meet such great people.  I'm a lucky girl, to say the least. Honestly, it sort of feels like graduation all over again. But I'm learning that that's what life is all about. Chapters and sections. Converging beginnings and endings.  This summer has been incredible.  I've loved every single second of it.

America! America!

I think I was destined to be a city girl. There, I said it. I love everything about this city. Let's just not talk about the fact that I only have two weeks left. For the 4th of July my roomates and I went to watch the fireworks on the Hudson. We grabbed some grub from whole foods and headed toward the west side. At 7pm it was already packed but we managed to snag a good place to set up for our picnic. It was ridiculously hot and the later it became, the more crowded it became. The fireworks started at 9:20 and they were absolutely beautiful. The finale lit up the entire sky. Once the fireworks were over it was chaos. I don't know how we didn't lose one another considering there were thousands of people trying to leave at the same time. I'm so glad I went, but I will definitely never be going back.

The icing on my summer cake? Four of my favorite people are coming to this beautiful city in less than a week! Mom, Dana, Coco, and Muffin-- Hurry up and get here. New York is waiting!

Happy Birthday Maci!

Yep, that's right. Today is the best little dog in the entire world's birthday. Eight years ago my mom, who constantly refused to let me have a pet other than a fish, finally caved. One look at Maci and there was no turning back. She stole our hearts. Mace is quite a character. She's fiercly independent but loving and loyal. She loves people but dogs on the other hand, not so much. Size does not matter to this little one. She doesn't care if you're a chiuaua or a rottweiler, she'll be sure to let you know she doesn't want you around. She's scared of thunder and loves to take naps. She's the best dog a girl could ask for and I miss her SO much. Happy Birthday Mace!!

Best. Weekend. Ever.

This past weekend Adam came to visit. His plane landed Friday night, so after he checked into his hotel we went straight to dinner at Caliente. It was packed but it was as delicious as ever. Then we headed to Times Square to grab some of the world's BEST cheescake from Junior's. Adam was doubting that it was as good as I was telling him but after his first bite, he was in love. Apparently in Times Square there's a live video camera that people can view on their computers, so of course we had to stop by and wave to mom and dad.


Saturday morning we woke up early and headed out to Yankee Stadium. Adam is a HUGE Yankees fan and wanted to see the House that Babe built in person. Then we headed down towards Wall Street so I could show him where I worked. We walked around the Financial District for a while and sat by the Statue of Liberty and ate some froyo. We also went to the Seaport and walked around the mall. Then we headed up towards Chinatown where we snagged some cheap tshirts. We grabbed lunch in Little Italy at a place called Positano. After lunch we caught a taxi and headed up to Central Park! I've taken the carriage rides through Central Park before but I've never actually walked through it. We walked by Strawberry Fields, the John Lennon memorial and then stopped to rest in Sheep's Meadow, which is a massive field of grass. We walked up to Bethesda Fountain and I went in and got a drink from the Boathouse Restaurant, which is in 27 Dresses. Central Park is one of my favorite places in the city. That night we went to Bobby Van's for dinner. It was DELICIOUS. Definitely the best birthday dinner everrrr! After dinner we walked up to Serendipity so Adam could experience it for himself. The wait was an hour and half but it went by fast. Adam got the Coward's portion of the Banana Split, which was still huge and I got a frrrrozen hot chocolate, again.
Sunday we decided to rent car and go to the Hamptons!! It's about an hour and a half from the city. The Mansions were blocked by massive shrubs but we caught a peek at some of them. We walked out to the beach and I loved the feeling of the sand between my toes. It was a nice change from the concrete in the city. We called dad to wish him a Happy Birthday AND Father's Day. I'm so sad I couldn't be there to celebrate with him. We decided to drive to the end of Long Island to the Montauk Point Lighthouse. I'm obsessed with Lighthouses but had never been to one. We climbed up to the top and the view was absolutely beautiful. I could have stayed up there forever. We drove back and grabbed lunch in East Hampton and walked around looking at the shops. Long story short, I have the BEST brother ever. I miss him already!

Yankees vs. Astros

All it took was one step inside that stadium to make me a diehard Yankees fan. No words can do it justice. It's simply something that every person has to experience for themselves.

"The essence of the Yankees is that they win. From in front or from behind, they win. And that's why the history of the New York Yankees is virtually the history of baseball."
-Dave Anderson, The New York Times



"Baseball was, is and always will be to me the greatest game in the world."
-Babe Ruth

“Serendipity, it's such a nice sounding word for what it means: a fortunate accident.”

Kate Beckinsale was right. It was a fortunate accident that she chose to wander into a little place called Serendipity. If it wasn't for her, I would never have been able to experience what I like to call Heaven in a Cup, but Serendipity just calls it Frrrozen Hot Chocolate. It tastes exactly like it says, like frozen hot chocolate. Two of our program staff went early and booked us reservations because Serendipity is notorious for their long wait. We arrived on the Upper East Side at 8:30 and were seated in just ten minutes. However we did have to wait awhile for our drinks to arrive, but once they did, the ten minutes I spent drinking it were some of the best ten minutes of my life.

Brooklyn

So today I ventured to another borough, Brooklyn. I figured I had to love it since it has my name in it. A group from the program took the subway downtown and then walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was absolutely beautiful. I loved the view of the city from the bridge. We had pizza from Grimaldi's and luckily we called ahead and ordered because the line was two hours long! It was really good pizza. We also had ice cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory which was delicious. Then we just sat at a park overlooking the Hudson before heading back to Manhattan.

"The city never sleeps better slip you an Ambien"

Truer words have never been spoken. This city really never does sleep. Friday night a bunch of girls went to see Sex and the City. I LOVED it and it was so cool to watch it in the city. Saturday the program organized a bus tour of the city, which turned out to be fun. I was kind of iffy on whether or not I'd enjoy it because it seemed like such a touristy thing to do, but getting to see all of the sights without walking around is fine by me anyday. We ended in Times Square and ate lunch at the Hardrock Cafe. The meal was paid for but we only had four options to choose from: hamburger, cheeseburger, veggie burger, or chicken caeser salad. Considering I don't like hamburgers, I was left with the salad. In New York, it's state law to put the calories on the menus, and it really makes you think about what you're about to eat. Well, the salad was more calories than the burgers. After lunch, my two suitmates, Allison, Heather, and I walked up to Central Park and around Columbus Circle. That night we went to dinner at the Riviera Cafe in Greenwich Village. And of course we stopped to get FroYo at Pinkberry on our way back to the dorm.

Sunday, a big group of us went to the Lexington Street Festival. It's great place to sample greasy food (no calories listed) and do some bargain shopping. After that, Allison and I went shopping around SoHo. Which reminds me that on our bus tour, the guide informed all Texans that Houston street is pronounced 'How-stun.' SoHo is the area south of Houston street while NoHo is north. We stopped by Magnolia Bakery and bought four cupcakes each. We just couldn't contain ourselves. We also saw some paparazzi chasing down who we think was Whitney Port. Just around the block from Magnolia was Carrie Bradshaw's apartment. It was absolutely adorable. That night we went to Caliente Cab and had some great Mexican food. I would go back now in a heartbeat. Today, a group from the program went to Coney Island, which from Union Square is about a 45 minute subway ride. Oh and let me tell you, chivalry is dead in New York City. I stood the entire way. Once we finally arrived at Coney Island, it was CrAzYyYyY. It was opening weekend and Memorial Day. My roomates and I didn't stay very long. The lines for the rides were miles long and the beach was packed. One week down and I am exhausted.

First Days in the City and on the Job

I've only been here four days and I feel like I've lived here my entire life. I'm in love. I moved into my room on Sunday and met my roomate and two suitmates, who are all really sweet. Then my dad and I went shopping to get some much needed necessities. We didn't have time to really go out to dinner because I had a welcome reception that night, so we just grabbed Chipotle which is always fine by me. It's right across the street and as my roomate Allison says, it's both a gift and a curse. Monday I had orientation for four hours and they just told us about the program, NYU policies, and about our course credit. After that, dad and I practiced my route to work. My program provides us with unlimited metro cards and luckily Wall Street is just a few stops downtown. We went to a late lunch an Italian restaurant called Tony's and then for dessert that night, we went to Max Brenner. I had the smores pizza. DELICIOUS! It may just be the next Serendipity and fortunately/unfortunately it too is only a block away from my dorm. My dad left the next morning. I miss him already!

Tuesday was my first day of work. I was so nervous. I started at 8:30am, but if you know me at all, you know that I was sitting outside at 7:50. I know, I'm crazy. When I finally went in, I had to show my ID and check in to get my daily name tag. Then I walk past the security guard and go to the elevators for the 40-55 floors. I'm on the 47th and my ears pop everytime. The first hour or so consisted of me filling out tons of forms and then I had to go to a place on Broadway to get fingerprinted. I was not too thrilled considering I just got my nails done. The rest of the day, I just called different companies and asked them if they're currently working with a broker, if it's local or out of state, and so on. For the first week or so, I'll mainly be working on the sales aspect and then for the majority of the summer I'll get to help with the investments. My boss, Rodney, is the Senior VP of Private Client Services.
I love my job and I love this city.

Packing

Packing: there is currently no word or task I despise more. Packing is always unenjoyable but it is especially daunting when you're packing for two months. I feel like I have to pack my entire closet. What if I don't bring those pair of shoes but end up wishing I had. Or that blue top with long sleeves because I think it will be too warm for it, but one night the weather happens to be chilly. It's an exhausting process. Luckily, I have the world's #1 organizer/packer at my disposal. My mom is the BEST. Without her, I'd just be staring at my clothes and nothing would get packed. Maybe I'll stuff her in one of my suitcases so she can unpack everything once I get there. She's pretty good at that too.

Where I'll be spending most of my time...

In 18 days I'll be in New York. It feels like it's going to be the longest 18 days of my life! All day, everday I sit and think about what my summer in New York will be like. You might say I obsess over it. I find out my roomate in less than two days and am SO excited. I constantly keep checking my email and our programs facebook group to see if there has been an update. I've known for months now that this summer I'll be staying at NYUs Palladium dorm. Well today I decided to use my creeper skills and went on Google Earth to try and find it. It's kind of hard to see and it goes up wayyyy higher than the picture shows, but you get the idea. And if any of you would like to write me over the summer, I would love it. I promise I'll write back! Once I find out my room number, I'll post the address. I also went and found where I'll be working this summer. The Chicago Investment Group's office is located in the Trump Building in suite 4700. I already feel like a real New York business woman. Ahhhhh! This is making me too excited. 18 days. 18 days. 18 days.

T-Minus One Month

Let me start by saying, trying to figure out what to call my blog was the most stressful thing ever. I knew I wanted it to be something dealing with New York, but I couldn't figure out what exactly. I'm sure no one will see the title and immediately understand it but I'm okay with that because Shopgirl is Meg Ryan's AOL screen name in "You've Got Mail", my all-time favorite movie. I would love to own The Shop Around the Corner and live in that adorable Brownstone apartment. If you haven't seen it, watch it asap!

I decided to start this blog to keep family and friends updated on my life this summer. I started this journey back in September, when my mom mentioned that she heard about a program that offered summer internships in New York City. I was interested immediately. I first went to NYC when I was thirteen, and I have been in love with it ever since. Being able to spend an entire summer there would be a dream come true. I applied to the program and within a week was accepted into the University of Dreams summer internship program! Within a month I was placed with the Chicago Investment Group, whose office is located on Wall Street. I am so grateful for this opportunity and it definitely would not have been possible without my parents. Without their help, this would still be a dream, but in one short month it's about to become a reality. I leave Texas May 23rd and I am literally counting down the days. My dear old dad is taking me and I couldn't be happier, especially since that means I'll get to take an extra suitcase. Just kidding dad. I'll keep this updated throughout the summer and include some pictures. For now I'll leave you all with this:

"Brinkley is my dog. He loves the streets of New York as much as I do, although he likes to eat bits of pizza and bagels off the sidewalk and I prefer to buy them."
-You've Got Mail

Love you all!